Bioinorganic chemistry

The bioinorganic chemistry is an interdisciplinary branch of research in chemistry. The goal of bioinorganic chemistry is the elucidation of the function of classical inorganic elements, such as metals, in life processes.

In living organisms, metals usually occur in the active sites of proteins ( enzymes ). These metals are essential for the function of the enzymes. A metal exchange leads to loss or change of function. Metalloproteins can be regarded as metal complexes with exceptionally large ligand.

For research field of Bioinorganic heard on the one hand, the investigation and structural elucidation of metalloenzymes by the relevant proteins are obtained by expression and further purification steps. The studies range from the application of various physical and spectroscopic methods to X-ray diffraction experiments on protein crystals for structure determination. Especially the recovery of proteins in single crystalline form represents one of the greatest challenges and difficulties of bioinorganic chemistry represents the results of these studies are used to gain new insights into the process of enzymatic catalysis, on the run ultimately all life processes.

On the other hand, just because the work with the proteins is a complex, resource-intensive area of ​​research, formed with the modeling of enzymatic systems with low molecular weight coordination compounds, a second branch of bioinorganic chemistry. In this section an attempt is made to imitate spectroscopic and functional properties with the systematic investigation of new metal complexes. In this way, insights developed, for example, about the process of enzymatic catalysis can be obtained, which can then be transferred to the natural model.

Some metalloproteins ( metal involved, function, coordination):

  • Hemoglobin (iron, oxygen transport, porphyrin )
  • Myoglobin (iron, oxygen transport, porphyrin )
  • Hemerythrin (2 iron, oxygen transport, amino acids )
  • Methane monooxygenase (2 iron, oxidation of methane to methanol, amino acids )
  • Hemocyanin ( 2 copper, oxygen transport, amino acids )
  • Catechol oxidase, tyrosinase ( various metals, inter alia, Cu or Fe, oxidation of catechols and phenols, amino acids)
  • Oxygen evolving complex in photosystem II (4 manganese, one calcium, oxidation of water in photosynthesis )
Wolfgang Kaim Biochemistry Biogeochemistry Biophysical chemistry Chemometrics Electrochemistry Femtochemistry Geochemistry Nuclear chemistry Clinical chemistry Interface and colloid science Combinatorial chemistry Magnetochemistry Medicinal chemistry Marine chemist Quantum chemistry Stereochemistry Thermochemistry Integrated Authority File
126039
de